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Having been established in 1991, the State of Osun is one of the younger states in Nigeria, and in recent years the state government has made ambitious efforts to expand and develop the local economy. Named after the River Osun, linked to the Yoruba goddess of fertility, the state was carved out from the former territory of Oyo State during a boundary re-drawing in the 1990s. Over the past two and a half decades, Osun has grappled with many of the same challenges as other states in the country – poorly maintained infrastructure, irregular federal funding and inadequate social services – but a spate of reforms launched are aiming to address those issues. Although Osun does face its fair share of challenges, including a dependency on the volatile agricultural sector and neglected infrastructure, the current administration has taken a number of steps to block monetary leakages, improve project preparation and delivery, and raise internally generated revenue.

In recent years Nigeria has earned a reputation as one of the fastest-growing media markets in Africa. Over the past few decades the nation’s large population – currently estimated at around 170m, according to the World Bank – and rapidly expanding middle class have driven demand for new newspapers, magazines, radio and television programmes, music, film and, more recently, digital media of all sorts. The music industry and the Nigerian film industry have become significant cultural institutions in their own right, earning fans throughout Africa and further afield. Nigeria is the single largest media market in sub-Saharan Africa, and a handful of Nigerian media outfits have a pan-African reach. While catering to the needs of the country’s large and diverse population is seen as a major challenge, it is also an opportunity for the development of niche and tailored publications, targeted advertising and new markets.

Formal retailing is just getting started in Nigeria, and currently accounts for roughly 5% of the market. There are a host of obstacles to growth, starting with the difficulty of acquiring land on which to establish a mall, store or restaurant. Sourcing goods locally is difficult, while clearing imports is expensive and time consuming. Transporting goods to stores, finding staff and winning over a buying public that is either sceptical or cannot afford the products are also challenges. Retailers have long expected that the Nigerian market would require a long-term approach, and entering early would mean building brand loyalty among consumers even before they may be able to afford to buy. For now, that means overcoming the obstacles and additional costs associated with the market, in the hope of enjoying significant profits in the future. This chapter contains an interviews with Jeremy Hodara, Founder and co-CEO, Africa Internet Group.

In spite of the country’s traditional reliance on hydrocarbons, Nigeria’s industrial sector is diversified and growing, ranging from food and beverages to building materials. After a decades-long slump in manufacturing output, triggered by the scaling up of oil production in the 1970s, the country is working to reverse the trend and enable manufacturing and heavy industry to play a larger role in the economy. In the short and medium term, the government’s focus is on import replacement and addressing primary sector blockages, such as power, transport infrastructure and financing. The country’s solid fundamentals, including rising purchasing power, a growing population and limited penetration, make it an attractive long-term bet, as evidenced by the spate of new investments in recent years and the strong performance of companies in the FMCG, auto and building material segments.

Over the past decade Nigeria has become the largest telecoms market in Africa and the Middle East, with more than 140m active telecoms subscribers in 2015, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the federal telecoms regulator. As is the case elsewhere in frontier and emerging markets, mobile subscribers accounted for over 99% of this total, with virtually all of that segment controlled by the country’s four GSM operators: MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom and Etisalat Nigeria. Nigeria’s overall telecoms capacity is relatively high – a number of high-capacity submarine cables come ashore in the country – but bringing this capacity into people’s homes remains a major hurdle. Yet despite the challenges, most indicators point to continued expansion. Taking into account the nation’s large population and solid economic fundamentals, most local players are counting on continued rapid telecoms uptake. In the past five years Nigeria has grown into one of Africa’s largest and most vibrant markets for ICT products and services, with an ecosystem that ranges from software start-ups to infrastructure firms. According to the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, the federal oversight body, the nation accounts for 29% of all internet usage on the continent, and this figure is expected to rise. Despite the rapid pace of growth in recent years, the industry faces a host of challenges, including low penetration in terms of both usage and infrastructure access, high operating costs and a lack of local content. Nevertheless, most Nigerian ICT players are looking forward to continued growth ahead. This is due in part to the significant scope for expansion in terms of potential bandwidth – thanks to a total capacity of nearly 10 Tbps, most of it unused, through the existing submarine cables. This chapter contains interviews with Omobola Johnson, Minister of Communication Technology, and Issam Darwish, Executive Vice-Chairman and CEO, IHS Group.

In recent years the construction market in Nigeria has been among the world’s fastest growing, forecast to have expanded by 13% in 2014 on the back of a diverse array of demand drivers, including substantial state investment in infrastructure, rising levels of foreign direct investment and rapidly increasing urbanisation rates. The authorities have launched a host of initiatives that are aimed at addressing many of the industry’s steepest challenges – high building costs, delays in public contract payments, lateness in project delivery, lack of a national building code, reliance on state infrastructure projects and poor quality standards – though the efficacy of these schemes has yet to be confirmed. In the last few years Nigeria’s real estate market has expanded rapidly, continuing a decade-long upward trend fuelled by rising per capita incomes, steadily increasing foreign direct investment, urbanisation and strong corporate demand. Even though local and foreign developers have carried out a large number of projects in recent years, in most segments demand has been outpacing delivery. As a result, the country is undersupplied in a handful of key areas, including high-quality office space, affordable housing and formal retail. Despite a range of pressing challenges, Nigeria’s real estate sector is set to continue expanding in future, albeit at a slower pace than over the past decade. This chapter contains an interview with David Frame, Managing Director, South Energyx Nigeria.